MMA Payout’s No. 7 business story of 2012 is the first full year of the UFC-Fox relationship. In late 2011, the UFC signed a 7 year deal with Fox leaving longtime network Spike TV. While there was great anticipation for the UFC on Fox networks, the ratings have been less than anticipated. Despite a huge […]
Top 10 of 2012: No. 8 Zuffa continues international expansion
The number 8 business story of 2012 is the continued international expansion of the UFC. This year saw the launch of international TUFs, an Indian television deal and its first event in China. The first international TUF was in Brazil and involved Vitor Belfort and Wanderlei Silva as coaches. The show ran on Globo television […]
“Showtime Boxing on CBS” a success in boxing’s return to network
ESPN Dan Rafael reports that boxing’s big return to network television on CBS scored a 1.3 rating. The televised event, “Showtime Boxing on CBS,” on December 15th, aired between 1:45p.m. PT/4:45p.m ET to 3:00p.m. PT/6:00p.m. ET. The rating equates to roughly 1.5 million viewers although the actual numbers have not been released. The event featured […]
Top 10 of 2012: No. 9 TUF moves to Fridays on FX; poor ratings move it to Tuesdays for 2013
With the UFC-Fox relationship, much anticipation came with The Ultimate Fighter moving to the FX Network. Despite a Friday night time slot, Dana White was bullish on the move. Via MMA Fighting: When signing the [FOX] deal more than a year ago, UFC President Dana White talked about drawing 3 million viewers weekly for TUF […]
Top 10 for 2012: No. 10 – Injuries continue to plague fight cards
Welcome to the year end edition of MMA Payout where we’ll count down the top 10 business stories of 2012. We start off with number 10 with injuries plaguing fight cards this year. The biggest example of an injury affecting a card was UFC 151 (more on this later) when Dan Henderson went down with […]